House Permeated by Skunk Odor

February 4, 2014

Insured has an HO-3. A skunk sprayed the house under the screen porch, and the smell carried throughout the home. The carrier has committed to pay to clean and deodorize the entire house, but now tear out is necessary to get to the area that sustained the direct spray, as the odor has not dissipated completely.

The carrier is now telling the insured that the policy pays for only direct physical damage and that the smell in the area other than that which received the direct hit is not considered direct physical damage. The family has been in a hotel since the loss occurred.

New York Subscriber

Skunk odor must be chemically altered in order to be removed; it generally does not just "air out." The odor consists of various chemical molecules and the deposit of those molecules counts as direct physical damage. The carrier should pay for the cleanup of the odor.

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